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Ghost in the Machine (film)
| music = Graeme Revell | cinematography = Phil Méheux | editing = Janice Hampton Erica Huggins | distributor = 20th Century Fox | released = | runtime = 95 minutes | country = United States | language = English | budget = $12 million | gross = $5.1 millionhttp://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=ghostinthemachine.htm }}Ghost in the Machine is a 1993 American science fiction horror film directed by Rachel Talalay and released by 20th Century Fox about a deceased serial killer with artificial computer intelligence. Plot A serial killer named Karl Hochman (Ted Marcoux) is known as "The Address Book Killer" due to his habit of stealing address books and choosing his victims from them. While he is working at a computer store, he obtains Terry Munroe's (Karen Allen) address book after another employee, who is demonstrating a scanner, copies a page of her address book into a computer. On a rainy night while heading home, Karl collides into a truck, which causes his car to go off the road and swerve into a cemetery as he laughs. In the emergency room he is put into an MRI machine. A surge from an electrical storm manages to transfer his soul into a computer. Now as a network-based entity, Karl continues to plot his killing spree using various objects connected to the electrical grid and computer networks. Karl opens the scanned page from Terry's address book and begins to kill everyone listed on the page. Her co-worker, Frank Mallory (Richard McKenzie), becomes the first victim when his microwave oven explodes. Another friend, Elliot Kastner (Jack Laufer), gets burned to death when a hand dryer turns into a flamethrower. Terry hires a babysitter, Carol Maibaum (Shevonne Durkin), to look after her son Josh (Wil Horneff). However, Carol becomes the third victim; she is electrocuted by an exploding dishwasher in the kitchen. The police do not believe the theory that Karl is on a killing spree after his death, but Josh realizes the order of the killings is related to a list of contacts from Terry's address book. Terry, along with computer hacker Bram Walker (Chris Mulkey), unplugs everything in her house. The police then receive anonymous reports of an armed robbery, a hostage situation, domestic violence, and a murder in progress, all at Terry's house. The police open fire on the home after mistaking an exploding generator for gunfire. When they realize their mistake, they cease fire. Terry's mother goes into shock during the siege and is transported to the hospital for recovery. Aided by Bram and Terry, Josh manages to defeat Karl by introducing a computer virus that traps him in a physics laboratory. They activate an atom smasher located in the lab, which draws Karl in and destroys him. As the film ends, Bram tells Terry to turn off a heart rate monitor in an ambulance, causing the screen to fade to black. Cast * Karen Allen as Terry Munroe * Chris Mulkey as Bram Walker * Ted Marcoux as Karl Hochman * Wil Horneff as Josh Munroe * Jessica Walter as Elaine Spencer * Brandon Adams as Frazer * Rick Ducommun as Phil Stewart * Jack Laufer as Elliott Miller * Shevonne Durkin as Carol Maibaum * Richard McKenzie as Frank Mallory * Nancy Fish as Karl's Landlord * Richard Schiff as Scanner Technician Production The film was shot in Los Angeles in color with Dolby SR sound . Release and reception During its opening weekend, Ghost in the Machine grossed $1,854,431 and ranked at no. 10.http://www.boxofficemojo.com/weekend/chart/?yr=1993&wknd=53&p=.htm By the end of its run, it had grossed a domestic total of $5,086,909, failing to recoup its $12 million budget.[https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0107009/business Ghost in the Machine (IMDb)] The film was generally not received well by critics; on Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds a 13% "Rotten" rating, based on eight reviews. See also * List of ghost films References External links * * * * Category:1993 films Category:1990s action films Category:1990s independent films Category:1990s science fiction films Category:20th Century Fox films Category:American films Category:American independent films Category:American science fiction action films Category:Cyberpunk films Category:English-language films Category:Film scores by Graeme Revell Category:Films directed by Rachel Talalay Category:Films set in Cleveland Category:Films shot in Los Angeles Category:Ghost films Category:Films with screenplays by William Davies Category:American serial killer films Category:Techno-thriller films